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James’ injury nightmare

Chelsea full-back Reece James took to Instagram on Thursday after it was revealed that he suffered another injury setback. He wrote: “This message is to the people that understand & have respect for what I’m going through... I appreciate you so much, your support and kind words go further than you could ever imagine. And just to touch on me... I’m doing okay, been better and also been worse. Another challenge ahead accepted. Eventually I’ll come out on top. Against all odds.”

Adversity stirs something primal in him, so it is no surprise the manager chose to sign a new contract now

“Come here guys, come here,” shouts Pep Guardiola as the Manchester City players gather in the dressing room of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It’s 0-0 at half-time, the Premier League title is slipping away and the energy levels are frail, bordering dead.

Kevin De Bruyne dabs sweat from his brow. Erling Haaland urges his teammates to keep going. An unseen staff member asks whether anyone is still in the toilets. It feels somehow fitting that this question does not come from Guardiola. Great orators should not have to corral their audience out of the can in advance.

Despite a torrid start to the season the club remain within touching distance of top four as new head coach arrives

With his breezy manner, shock of jet-black wavy hair and declaration that “we choose our way 100%”, Ruben Amorim exuded the fresh energy Manchester United need in his debut media conference at a crammed Jimmy Murphy Centre.

With only four points to third place, there is a golden chance to transform the season. Yet the issues Amorim wrestles with are the club he has walked into and the squad he has inherited.

Fresh start promised after David Moyes has not come – poor performances have left team languishing in the league

By Ben McAleer for WhoScored

Julen Lopetegui’s appointment in May was expected to usher in a new era at West Ham. There was a general consensus that David Moyes had taken the club as far as he could, that the reactive football had become stale, even though the approach secured a European trophy.

West Ham had the fourth-lowest possession average (40.5%) in the Premier League last season as they defended in numbers before breaking at speed to capitalise on space vacated when opponents pushed forward. They scored the joint-most counterattacking goals (nine), and only 22% of their attacks came through the middle, the lowest in England’s top tier, as they sought to utilise the wide men in Moyes’s favoured 4-2-3-1.

• England captain breaks Bundesliga record with 50th goal
• PSG win 3-0 ahead of Champions League trip to Munich

The England captain Harry Kane scored a hat-trick, with two of the goals in second-half stoppage time, to give Bayern Munich a 3-0 victory over Augsburg on Friday. The win helped the hosts open up an eight-point gap at the top of the Bundesliga.

Bayern, who take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League next week, are undefeated in the league and have 29 points after their fifth consecutive league game without conceding. Second-placed RB Leipzig, who travel to Hoffenheim on Saturday, are on 21 points.

Out-of-form Manchester City host Tottenham while Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United reign starts at Ipswich

Saturday 12.30pm TNT Sports 1 Venue King Power Stadium

• Associated party transaction changes approved by 16-4
• Aston Villa, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest side with City

The Premier League has won a ­significant victory in its ­battle against Manchester City, after clubs voted decisively on Friday to change the rules on associated party transactions (APT).

While the changes are relatively minor, and the rules relate to only one aspect of the competition’s ­complicated regulations on ­spending, the outcome of the motion was significant. In a vote split 16 to four, clubs fell behind the Premier League’s leadership and ignored a call from the champions to submit a broader challenge to the rulebook.

• Spurs lost at home to Ipswich in last outing
• ‘If we’re 10th at Christmas, it won’t be great’

Ange Postecoglou has admitted his position will be under “a lot of scrutiny” if he has not lifted Tottenham out of mid-table by Christmas. The club play at Manchester City on Saturday – the start of what Postecoglou called a “pivotal” nine-game sequence in 29 days – and he was keen to highlight the fine margins at work.

If Spurs had beaten Ipswich at home on the Sunday before last, they would sit third in the Premier League. They have the second-best goal difference in the division, are into the Carabao Cup quarter-final – where they have a home tie against Manchester United – and are going well in the Europa League.

• ‘Only one way to fulfil expectation – win big trophies’
• Saka and Rice back for Forest visit but Ben White out

Mikel Arteta returned from a visit to see Arsenal’s owners over the international break determined to turn up the temperature and ignite his side’s stuttering title challenge.

The head coach was in an animated mood as he warmed up for a crucial run of fixtures, with the emphasis on playing with fire in the belly in Saturday afternoon’s home game against Nottingham Forest.

• Liverpool head coach says City cannot be written off
• Leaders face bottom side Southampton on Sunday

Arne Slot has said Liverpool will not get carried away with being tagged title favourites given the fine margins in the Premier League and Manchester City’s track record of reeling in rivals.

Liverpool opened up a five-point lead over City before the international break and have made their best start to a Premier League season since winning the title in 2019-20. Opta now gives Liverpool a 60.3% chance of winning this season’s championship but Slot, whose side visit the bottom club, Southampton, on Sunday, insists recent history shows the reigning champions can never be written off. Arsenal held an eight-point lead over City on 1 April 2023. Liverpool were three points clear of City in April of this year. Pep Guardiola’s team won the title on both occasions.

Despite his friendships at Old Trafford, Ipswich’s manager is planning a rude awakening for Ruben Amorim’s first game

It takes little effort for Kieran McKenna to remember his first Manchester United game. He was about to turn eight when his father took him to Old Trafford in May 1994 and, while a goalless draw with Coventry might not thrill at first glance, there was the considerable bonus of seeing Sir Alex Ferguson’s side celebrate their procession to the title. Growing up in County Fermanagh you threw your lot behind United or Liverpool: the young McKenna took his pick and those ties took hold across the next three decades.

On Sunday, though, United will come to McKenna and his impressive Ipswich side. It will be a fiery baptism for Ruben Amorim at Portman Road and, had this not been the Portuguese’s long-trailed debut, the story would have been squarely in the home dugout. McKenna has never felt any need to hide his affection for United and, from the outside, it looked a gamble when he left their coaching staff for a drifting League One club almost three years ago. But now he can face them with the realistic prospect of a positive result and it is some measure of the distance he and Ipswich have travelled.

• Unbeaten United face Chelsea side who have 100% record
• Marc Skinner suggests Chelsea are best side in Europe

The sight of Mayra Ramírez bulldozing her way through the Old Trafford penalty area to power Chelsea to a symbolic 6-0 victory that clinched last season’s title may still be raw in the minds of many Manchester United supporters.

Six days after United had won their first major trophy, proudly lifting the Women’s FA Cup at Wembley, they were brought crashing to earth with a humbling defeat that exposed some of their defensive frailties and highlighted the chasm between them and the champions, as they finished fifth and Chelsea won a fifth title in a row.

Nottingham Forest cult hero on how close he was to leaving, cooking spinach in a hotel room and his latte art hobby

When Nottingham Forest announced Ryan Yates had extended his 19-year association with the club in the summer, they released a video clip of their captain pootling past the City Ground on the waters of the River Trent, on board the Nottingham Princess, an 80ft double-decker cruiser. After all, he is the unofficial prince of Nottingham, Mr Forest to so many. But Yates, constantly trying to improve his game, always wants more. “I genuinely wanted to get in, go underwater, there would be a piece of paper floating on top,” he says, bowing his head, grabbing my pen and notepad, “and then come up with a snorkel on and sign it. But they wouldn’t let me, they were pretty worried.”

Not for the first time, laughter fills the boardroom at Forest’s training base and it is a story that offers a snapshot of Yates’s warm, down-to-earth persona. This is his third season as a Premier League midfielder but he carries fond memories of his journey to this point, including his professional debut for Barrow, a non-league trip to North Ferriby in August 2016. “I stayed at my mum and dad’s the night before, I was quite nervous and they drove me to the game. The club put my shirt up in the dressing room, No 22 … they ripped the name and number off a shirt from someone who had left and stuck mine on, so you could see the outline of someone else’s name and number. The shirt was huge … it must have been an XL. It was ginormous. I watched my clips from that game about six months ago for a laugh; I was running around like a headless chicken.”

How the current Liverpool squad compares with Jürgen Klopp’s champions of five years ago

With a five-point lead over a faltering Manchester City, and a nine-point advantage over the rest of the chasing pack, Liverpool have a 60.3% chance of winning the Premier League according to Opta. Arne Slot’s team, who visit bottom-of-the-table Southampton on Sunday, have 28 points from the opening 11 games. Liverpool have bettered that only once in the past 34 seasons, when last winning the Premier League in 2019-20. We assess how the current Liverpool squad compares with Jürgen Klopp’s champions.

• Concacaf signed partnership with PIF in August
• Human Rights Watch decries deal as sportswashing

A leading human rights organization has described a sponsorship deal between Concacaf and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) as sportswashing, criticizing the host confederation for 2026 World Cup as complicit in covering up the murder of journalists as well as the repression of women and human rights activists.

Concacaf, the confederation that includes nations from North and Central America and the Caribbean, announced its partnership with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund in August claiming Saudi Arabia’s investment will “increase the number of youth tournaments and community programs it manages in its region”.

• Uruguayan has been banned for seven games by the FA
• Spurs choose to increase diversity and equality training

Tottenham have not fined Rodrigo Bentancur for using a racial slur about teammate Son Heung-min despite their midfielder being found guilty of “aggravated misconduct” by the Football Association.

Bentancur was handed a seven-match ban and £100,000 fine by the FA this week, but the Guardian has learned that his club have not punished him.

The playoff system means the strongest sides often miss out on glory. But there’s no doubt about the quality of Orlando and Washington this season

This Saturday in Kansas City, NWSL fans will witness one of the most compelling championship matchups in recent memory. The Orlando Pride are seeking a storybook ending to a captivating year. But they must get past an ascendant 2021 champions Washington Spirit, bolstered by a new manager and a sensational rookie class.

Saturday’s finale sets up a rare NWSL championship meeting between the regular season’s first and second-place teams. An exciting peculiarity of the American playoff system – prized by some, rued by others – is that anything can happen in the postseason. One-off upsets are always possible, and the regular season’s top team isn’t always crowned championship in the end.

• Brazilian believes things are heading in right direction
• ‘I’ve suffered so much and still sometimes suffer’

The Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior has spoken about his fight against racism, describing it as an ongoing battle that he is happy to take on, but warning that he alone “can’t fight all that Black people have been suffering”.

The Brazilian footballer has been at the forefront of fighting racism in La Liga after facing abuse at more than 10 Spanish grounds. In March he laid bare the toll exacted by years of racist insults, saying that the barrage of abuse was chipping away at his desire to play.

• Welsh FA calls allegations ‘extremely disappointing’
• Former international says she ‘cancelled some events’

The Football Association of Wales has said allegations against the former Wales international Natasha Harding, including that she took money for coaching sessions she failed to deliver, are “extremely disappointing”.

BBC Wales News reported on Wednesday that teammates, parents and sponsors have accused the former Liverpool, Reading and Aston Villa forward Harding – who now uses her married name Allen-Wyatt – of taking thousands of pounds that she has not returned.

Fulham’s attacking midfielder on Bellamy’s Wales revolution, Wrexham’s takeover and the buzz of scoring in the Premier League

For Harry Wilson in recent weeks the venue may have varied but the end result has largely been the same. On Tuesday the scene was Cardiff City Stadium, Wilson scoring his fourth goal in his past five Wales matches, a typically flush left-foot finish. Then there was his off-the-cuff stoppage-time double to earn Fulham a derby victory over Brentford at Craven Cottage this month, the first an audacious backheel flick, in front of the watching Wales manager, Craig Bellamy. By the time Wilson got to sleep in Surrey, it was the early hours of the following morning. “I had the game recorded so I got home and watched it back a few times,” he says, smiling. “That feeling when it looped in was amazing.”

The Fulham manager, Marco Silva, had used the final words of his dressing-room debrief to praise Wilson’s patience and attitude, aware he is yet to start a Premier League game this season. Then his teammates made a din and beckoned Wilson to make a speech.

Forward issued a timely reminder after becoming first player in Europe’s top five leagues to reach double figures for goals and assists in all competitions

By David Segar for Opta Analyst

It has become almost common football parlance in recent years when discussing data. You can barely refer to any attacking statistic without starting the sentence: “Only Mohamed Salah …”

The Egyptian has been a sensation since signing for Liverpool in 2017, scoring and creating goals that have fired the Reds to glory at home and abroad.

From a nightmare spell in Moldova to drawing a blank in Houston, some players enjoyed a unique professional life

Rohan Ricketts started out with Arsenal in 2001 and ended up playing in more countries than some people visit in a lifetime. Deals in Canada, Hungary, Moldova, Germany, Ireland, India, Ecuador, Thailand, Hong Kong and Bangladesh were steered over the line by his increasingly imaginative agent. The attacking midfielder had played once for the Gunners before a more notable three-season spell at Tottenham. There were loans around England with Coventry, Wolves, QPR and a full-time deal with Barnsley before his globetrotting commenced. In 2011 he won the Irish title with Shamrock Rovers, but Dacia Chisinau in Moldova was “an absolute nightmare … I never got paid”. In happier news he came off the bench for Shamrock Rovers to a warm reception at Tottenham in a 2011 Europa League tie. Exeter City and Leatherhead later appeared on Ricketts’ odyssey, although he stayed at the Grecians less than a month, eventually rounding things off with a spell at the gloriously obscure Canadian outfit Unionville-Milliken.

Plus: leagues with most teams whose names bookended by one letter, multiple international debut scorers and more

• Mail us any of your questions and answers

“I make Rúben Amorim the seventh Portuguese to manage in the Premier League,” writes Daniel Keown. “What’s the record for a country outside the home nations? And have any major football countries not produced a Premier League manager?”

On Sunday afternoon, at Portman Road, Amorim will indeed become the seventh Portuguese manager of a Premier League team. José Mourinho was the first, when he joined Chelsea in 2004, and he was followed (in chronological order) by André Villas-Boas, Marco Silva, Carlos Carvalhal, Nuno Espírito Santo and Bruno Lage.

We’ve included temporary managers who were either in charge or originally appointed for a minimum of five Premier League games. That means Cristian Stellini makes the cut; Spurs appointed him for the last 10 games of the 2022-23, only to sack him after four. But Ruud van Nistelrooy isn’t included as he was only ever appointed for two league games. The figure in parentheses covers your Van Nistelrooys and your Saltors.

Nationalities are taken from the official Premier League site. Technically there have been no African managers in the Premier League era, but Jean Tigana (France), Patrick Vieira (France) and Nuno (Portugal) were born in Mali, Senegal, and São Tomé and Príncipe, respectively.

Our cartoonist celebrates a special anniversary with old friends to entertain us in the international break

• Buy your own copy of this cartoon from our Print Shop
• David’s new book, Chaos in the Box: order it now

A club that punches above its weight, Le Zebrette have calmness, flair and focal point up front in Oliver Bierhoff

James Oddy for The Gentleman Ultra

For a club that have never won a Serie A title, picking a five a side team made up of former Udinese players proved monumentally difficult. Nestled in north-east Italy, Udine is significantly closer to Slovenia’s capital of Ljubljana than Rome. Yet it has been a nursery for many elite players, as well as providing the stability and seclusion for the more mature player to find their feet and flourish.

This side is a mixture of youth and experience and helps to emphasise just how much talent has graced the Stadio Friuli. My selection based primarily on players who played during my lifetime and ones that would flourish in the five a side game.

It may have been an absolute mess, but McClair’s two-yard wonder strike was a window into the human soul

The reality of corporeality is a hard thing to process; just look at what we look like! But somehow, the agglomeration of weird shapes and freaky textures that comprises us responds to instructions from the quivering lump of jelly that really comprises us, and thus does football eventuate. Jesse Armstrong once said that if a joke isn’t working, one thing to try is sticking it an enclosed space so “the characters are up in each other’s physicality” and such is our beautiful game: a chaotic, hilarious gumbo of bodies controlled by brains that are fickle, stressed and distractible, having been socialised into the fanatical pursuit of an arbitrary aim to which has been ascribed inherent moral value.

Many of the most preposterous events I’ve seen in my life have been football-related: consider John Terry arranging for himself to take a Champions League-winning penalty and adjusting his captain’s armband en route, then slipping and crying, or Steven Gerrard coming on for his last appearance against Manchester United after spending the entirety of the first half being wound up by the away end, then getting himself sent off 38 seconds later. For balance, I was also at the Stadium of Light on the last day of 2011-12, but we all have our own favourites: those moments when players, asked to process footballing obsession multiplied by the human condition, simply cannot.

Ruben Amorim said he is a 'dreamer' in his first press conference as Manchester United head coach after joining the club from Sporting.

The 39-year-old signed a two-and-a-half-year deal to replace Erik ten Hag who was sacked in October.

He has been compared to José Mourinho because of his nationality and success and said: 'He [José Mourinho] sent me a message and told me that this is a lovely club, a big club, with lovely people, and that is correct.'

He added: 'I am different from Mourinho. I am a different person.'

Pep Guardiola has signed a two-year contract that will extend his tenure as the Manchester City manager to 2027. Guardiola, who has won 18 trophies since he joined City in 2016, spoke about his decision making process in an interview with the club. Speaking about his side's poor recent form, he said: 'The problems we had in the last month [four consecutive defeats], I felt now was not the right time to leave.'

• ‘Now was not time to leave’: Pep Guardiola pens new two-year Manchester City deal

After five years in storage a statue of Harry Kane has been unveiled – much to the delight of the man himself but less so to the public, with many people claiming it fails to capture its subject. Kane isn't the first footballer to unveil an unflattering statue, however, with depictions of Ronaldo, Diego Maradona and Mo Salah among others facing ridicule.

• ‘Stuff of nightmares’: statue of Harry Kane unveiled after five years in storage

England beat Greece 3-0 in Athens on Thursday night to go top of their Nations League group. Lee Carsley's decision to bench Harry Kane paid off as his replacement, Ollie Watkins, scored the opener after seven minutes. 'It’s important if we want to put players in a position to win the World Cup that these players need to have as many experiences as we can,' Carsley said. 'It’s no slight on Harry. He’ll start the next game. I see the quality the players have got. The younger ones are more than capable with the quality and mentality they’ve got.'

Jordan Pickford kept England in the game with a couple of strong saves before an Odysseas Vlachodimos own goal and Curtis Jones flick sealed the victory.

• Lee Carsley praises England youngsters after Kane gamble pays off in Greece

Gary Lineker is to step down as the presenter of Match of the Day at the end of the season, it has been confirmed. The former England striker, 63, took over in the chair from Des Lynam in 1999 and has been a presence on football fans’ screens on Saturday nights for 25 years. Over that time he has brought plenty of memorable moments to viewers while also speaking out on issues he felt needed addressing.

• BBC confirms Gary Lineker’s departure from Match of the Day

• From presenting in pants to political controversy: Gary Lineker’s Match of the Day career

Ruud van Nistelrooy led Manchester United to a 2-0 victory over Greek champions PAOK in the Europa League. Van Nistelrooy, who is standing in as interim manager before the arrival of Rúben Amorim, will manage his last game for Manchester United on Sunday against Leicester. He said: 'For me, it's important now to carry on and build on results of Leicester, of Chelsea and of PAOK.'

Brazil legend features in Saturday’s big Championship game between Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit

The 2024 NWSL Championship between Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit on Saturday will be a historic contest and caps off a memorable year. Hosted at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, it already celebrates a massive milestone in yet another year of growth. The Kansas City Current’s home is the first stadium built specifically for an NWSL club and was deservedly awarded the Championship game.

As the NWSL commissioner, Jessica Berman, said: “It was a natural choice to stage the league’s marquee event in a venue that exemplifies the profound impact of infrastructure, investment and community support on the continued development and success of our sport.” The 11,500 capacity stadium sold out every game and is on course to do the same in the final.

• Bundesliga club move to Bluesky and urge fans to follow
• St Pauli concerned X may influence German election

St Pauli have become the first major football club to leave X, ­describing the social media site as a “hate machine” and expressing concern that it may influence the outcome of the forthcoming German election.

Scrutiny of the role played by X in platforming hate speech, far-right conspiracy theories and racism has intensified since Donald Trump’s victory in last week’s US election. Trump was vociferously supported by the entrepreneur Elon Musk, who bought X – then known as Twitter – in October 2022. Musk was given part-control of a new “department of government efficiency” this week.

• ‘My life has dramatically changed over the past two years’
• No timeframe but player vows to return ‘stronger than ever’

Matildas winger Cortnee Vine will prioritise her mental health and take a break from football after an “overwhelming” rise to prominence over the past few years.

For the second consecutive international window the 26-year-old made herself unavailable for selection and was again a notable absentee from interim coach Tom Sermanni’s 36-woman squad for Australia’s upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Taiwan.

Salento club may not have a storied history but players did not have to stay long to make their mark

By Michele Tossani for The Gentleman Ultra

Picking five players for a rational Lecce side should be easy, on paper. Salentini are a club that first stood in Serie A in 1985-86, which is relatively recent. The first Lecce game I remember was the 2-2 that the newly promoted side imposed on the then Campioni d’Italia of Verona in September 1985.

But Lecce are a club that featured great players. So, in the end, building Lecce’s five-a-side lineup was not as easy as expected to be.

• Controversy remains over Saudi Arabia’s 2034 bid
• The 54-year-old was re-elected Fifa president last year

Gianni Infantino will avoid any ­scrutiny of the controversial decision to give the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia next month after Fifa opted to stage the qualifying draw for the 2026 tournament as a virtual event.

Saudi Arabia’s successful 2034 bid will be confirmed by acclamation at an extraordinary Fifa congress, to be held online on 11 December, while the Guardian has learned that the draw for European qualifying for the 2026 World Cup two days later will also take place remotely.

• Spain great starts first major venture since retirement
• Club are currently seventh in 12-team division

Andrés Iniesta has become co-owner of the Danish third-tier club Helsingør in the Spain legend’s first major off-field venture since retirement.

Helsingør announced that NSN, the sports management and consulting company jointly founded by Iniesta, would take control alongside the Swiss investment group Stoneweg. They are seventh in their 12-team division, to which they were relegated last season. According to NSN’s website, the firm had been working with the club on a consultancy basis to “consolidate its position and give the opportunity to worldwide talents to come and play in Europe”.

Abdelrahman Kuku is part of a side that cannot play at home but wants to bring joy there

“I am excited, everyone is excited, you have to be excited,” the Sudan international Abdelrahman Kuku says and that’s understandable. Sudan need a point against Niger on Thursday to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations – for the fourth time in 24 tournaments – and eliminate Ghana. That would be impressive enough given the circumstances but the Jediane Falcons are also soaring at the top of their World Cup qualification group after four games as they seek to qualify for the first time.

The circumstances, though, are as dire as can be. The country of almost 50 million is being torn apart by a fierce civil war that broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces militia. The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, said in October that millions are not able to escape from a “nightmare of violence, hunger, disease and displacement”.

• Player had been placed into artificial coma
• Midfielder was married with a young son

Ecuador and FC Cincinnati midfielder Marco Angulo has died from his injuries sustained in a car crash that also killed his former youth team teammate Roberto Cabezas, the Ecuadorian Football Association said on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old Angulo was a passenger in the car that crashed into a metal barrier on the Rumiñahui highway southeast of Quito on 7 October. The driver and Cabezas, who played for Independiente Juniors, were killed in the incident.

• Priestman is banned by Fifa after alleged use of drone
• Review reveals ‘past pattern of an unacceptable culture’

The departure of the Canada women’s national team head coach, Bev Priestman, has been confirmed by Canada Soccer, following an independent review into the drone spying scandal that rocked the team’s Olympics campaign.

The Englishwoman Priestman was removed from the Olympic Games in Paris and received a one-year ban from football by the world’s governing body Fifa in July, after a drone was allegedly used to spy on a training session of one of their opponents, New Zealand. The analyst Joseph Lombardi and the Canada assistant coach Jasmine Mander were also banned after the allegations, and on Tuesday a statement from Canada Soccer said: “The three individuals currently suspended by Fifa will not be returning. The search for a new head coach for the women’s national team will commence shortly.”

From Franco Mastantuono to Estêvão, we select some of the most talented players born in 2007. Check the progress of our classes of 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and look at the editions from further back

We pick the best youngsters at each club born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008, an age band known as first-year scholars. Check the progress of our classes of 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and look at the editions from further back

From Warren Zaïre-Emery to Endrick, we select some of the best players born in 2006. Check the progress of our classes of 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018

• Next Generation 2023: 20 of the best Premier League talents

The two Americans were on our list five years ago but their paths show the professional game is rarely straightforward

Career paths are rarely straightforward, whether in football or any other area of life. Circumstances often change. Injuries and illnesses happen, there are often changes in leadership which have an impact on the individual while personal lives also play a part.

Career paths are therefore very difficult to predict. Looking down the list of our 2019 Next Generation, which we have now followed for five years, there were no guarantees any of the players would become household names. OK, Alex Holiga, who covers the Balkans for us, was confident that Josko Gvardiol would make it big – which he has – but apart from him, and perhaps Ansu Fati, Eduardo Camavinga and Jérémy Doku, there were no certainties.

A remarkable year for the youngster. Made his Bundesliga debut on 18 January and has not looked back since. He now has 23 first-team appearances and has established himself as a starter and one of the most talented young players in Europe. “I’m still learning a lot tactically,” he said in August. “There is a very big difference between youth and professional football. Making the right movements and creating space for myself and others is what I still need to learn the most.

A tumultuous year for the young American who was caught in the crossfire of a feud between his own family and the USMNT coach, Gregg Berhalter, after the World Cup, during which he played a mere 52 minutes of the US’s four games. Injuries have once again hampered him but he is back to full fitness now and a US return seems likely too after talks with Berhalter.

Whoever takes over the hot seat will find the foundations are strong – this is a thing that doesn’t need messing with

When I was young, and random old people my parents knew would ask what I wanted to do with my life, I’d always answer: “Be Des Lynam,” – at the time mainly to end the conversation so I could go back upstairs and play Sensible Soccer. But it seemed like a fun thing to do.

So it was with some excitement a couple of weeks ago that I received a screengrab of the odds for the next host of Match of the Day. I was sixth favourite at 12-1! Gratifying stuff – it was now simply a case of somehow disposing of Dan Walker, Colin Murray, Jeff Stelling, Manish and Chappers and the chair was mine. I guess people might have got suspicious after the first couple disappeared.

They should be one of the Africa Cup of Nations favourites, instead Ghana are facing up to another chaotic failure

What made it especially painful was that, just briefly, it seemed they might get away with it. But they did not. Ghana did not get the win they needed in Angola on Friday and so Mohammed Kudus, Thomas Partey and Antoine Semenyo will not be at the next Cup of Nations, which begins in Morocco in December 2025.

Ghana have been terrible in the qualifiers. Their elimination is deserved. They went into their final pair of games needing to win both and hope Sudan lost both of theirs. The likelihood was that it would all be over on Thursday, when Sudan, managed by the former Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah, which has added a whole other tier of complication, went to Niger. But Niger won, 4-0. Nobody had expected that. For Ghana there was a glimmer of hope.

Refereeing is basically a nightmare now. Is it really a huge surprise a Premier League official should end up brutalised and spitting toxins on a sofa?

Farewell then, David Coote. You were the one who looks a bit like a hungover version of Ross from Friends. Let’s take a look at your best bits. Not sending off Jordan Pickford for an attempted amputation at Goodison Park. Not sending off Fabinho for performing on-spec achilles keyhole surgery on Evan Ferguson at the Amex.

Plus of course, the decision to let yourself be filmed propped up on a sofa, saying all the bad stuff out loud, and in the process completing the amazing character arc of the English football referee, from taciturn northern master butcher, to the current crop of beleaguered full-time reality TV stars.

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“I’m not moving, I can assure you,” husked Pep Guardiola in the social media drop announcing his contract extension until 2027. The clip focuses on Pep’s crow’s feet and coal-black eyes, each line possibly marking the efforts required to win the multiple trophies he has brought Manchester City. Still, in bringing the news City fans so craved, it was understated, low-budget even, in these times of people living their best lives on Insta-disgraces with the production values of Kevin Costner’s vehicle Waterworld.

The English National Opera, which is decamping from London to Manchester, is promising projects bringing together opera and football. I see opportunities here for an entirely new, star-studded international operatic repertoire, featuring ‘Don Carlos Tevez’, ‘The Marriage of Figo’, ‘Thuramdot’ and, for local City fans, ‘Tosca Bobb’. And presumably there’ll be a penalty aria – Adrian Irving.

Re. this on the LDV Vans Auto Windscreen trophy (yesterday’s News, bits and bobs): ‘And the Bristol Street Motors Trophy is being rebranded – mid-competition, no less – to the Vertu Trophy. You’ll doubtless be reassured the EFL has provided a pronunciation guide: VUR-CHOO.’ Seems like typical Vurchoo-signalling to me – Mark Read.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Paul Watson, Ewan Murray and Ben Fisher to round off the latest international break as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all finish strongly

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On the podcast today: we begin with the news that Pep Guardiola has agreed a one-year contract extension at Manchester City before moving on to talk about promotion for Wales in the Nations League, with manager Craig Bellamy remaining unbeaten as they thrashed Iceland 4-1.

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Jenna Schillaci and Sophie Downey to discuss all the weekend’s WSL games

On today’s pod, the panel discusses Chelsea’s rise to the top of the WSL table after a hard-fought win over Manchester City. Is this the start of their title charge?

The panel also looks at the late drama across the league, with Fran Kirby’s goal sealing Brighton’s victory and Ebony Salmon coming off the bench to give Aston Villa their first win of the season.

Midfielder enjoyed glittering career around the world and had impact off the field as advocate for LGBTQ+ community

As the final whistle blew in Stockholm on Saturday afternoon, fans of Rosengård and hosts Djurgården rose to their feet. Signs and flags were raised aloft at the Olympic Stadium and a standing ovation ensued as Caroline Seger, a name synonymous with Swedish women’s football for the best part of two decades, walked off a competitive football pitch for the final time.

Every footballer dreams of ending their career on a high but relatively few manage to achieve it, particularly when they have already bid farewell to the international stage. Seger, however, has managed to go out at the very top, a deserved finale for an individual who has transformed the game in Sweden on and off the pitch.

Plus: title winners with multiple clubs, a very southern English top flight, more palindromes and mascots on shirts

• Mail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU

“Aberdeen were thrashed 6-0 by Celtic in the Scottish League Cup, ending a 16-match unbeaten run under Jimmy Thelin. What’s the heaviest defeat to end an unbeaten run?” asked Matthew Shore last week.

We added the caveat of an unbeaten run of at least 15 games, and Chris Roe got busy crunching the numbers, for English football at least. “There have been 487 instances of unbeaten runs in league fixtures of at least 15 matches in length,” he tells us. “Of those, 290 were ended by a single-goal defeat, and 133 by a two-goal margin.”

Can you do any better? Mail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU

Our cartoonist on champions’ new habit of losing and that video of a Premier League referee slagging off Liverpool

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Ipswich’s young English duo catch the eye, Liverpool march on and the brilliance of Brighton’s Carlos Baleba

It took them an hour of huffing and puffing, but Arsenal did something at Stamford Bridge they hadn’t managed since September – they scored an away goal in the Premier League. After toothless performances at Newcastle and Inter in the past week – and last month at Bournemouth – Gabriel Martinelli’s cute finish was itself a moment of relief, but Mikel Arteta was frustrated that his team didn’t find a winner. Their expected goals figure was lower than Chelsea’s (1.27 to 1.69) but that does not account for Leandro Trossard’s costly miskick at the death nor Kai Havertz’s would-be opener, which was just offside. The Gunners will almost always control games, especially now Martin Ødegaard is fit and firing again, but that age-old itch has not been scratched. They are not ruthless enough and they still lack a penalty box killer. Dominic Booth

Match report: Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

Match report: Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa

Match report: Brighton 2-1 Manchester City

Match report: Manchester United 3-0 Leicester

Match report: Nottingham Forest 1-3 Newcastle

Match report: Tottenham 1-2 Ipswich

Match report: Brentford 3-2 Bournemouth

Arsenal deliver at last, Lauren Hemp’s treble sees her top the WSL assist chart and Chelsea have ‘two No 1s’

Five goals, five different goalscorers and a clean sheet – Arsenal’s performance against Brighton felt like it was a long time coming. So often this season they have created chances but not been clinical. On Friday night, however, they were in the mood, producing a high-intensity first half that left Brighton shell-shocked. Beth Mead and Emily Fox combined brilliantly down the right, Katie McCabe and Caitlin Foord equally so down the left to exploit the weakness of the visitors’ full-backs and fallible defensive structure. A trademark Mead goal reminded fans of more fruitful times, a spectacular finish from Frida Maanum the same. The special moment of the night, however, belonged to Lina Hurtig. Her 76th-minute header was her first goal in 362 days, a perfect return after the Sweden winger had spent the best part of the last year on the sidelines. SD

Inter legend enjoyed a remarkable career in Spain and Italy, but football was not his only love growing up in Sydney

I am having to explain to Christian Vieri that despite us being in London and only a few miles from Lord’s, organising a game of cricket with Sir Ian Botham is probably going to be a bit tricky. I just don’t have that sort of pulling power, but also because the former Ashes legend is in Australia and a bit banged up after falling into crocodile-filled waters on a fishing trip.

The thing is, Vieri – the former striker who at one time became the most expensive footballer in the world when he moved to Internazionale in 1999 for about £30m – doesn’t just like cricket, he loves it, having spent most of his childhood in Australia.

The Premier League players who have belied expectations (in a good way) so far this season

The Cameroonian had a debut season to forget in England. A series of blunders during a nightmarish Champions League campaign helped contribute to Manchester United’s group-stage exit, while high-profile errors on the domestic front led to serious questions about his future. Onana has enjoyed a far better start this time, dropping no conspicuous clangers and keeping five clean sheets in 11 games, the highest of any goalkeeper. He is overperforming in shot-stopping metrics and boasts a pass-completion rate that is on course to be higher than last season. An unexpectedly reassuring presence during another period of early-season turmoil at Old Trafford.

In a country where thousands of migrant workers have died since 2016 a huge building project lies ahead. December’s coronation will stand as surely the most wretched, bloody, damaging act in the history of global organised sport

“People will die.”
Amnesty International

“You can never say again that you did not know.”
William Wilberforce

Sexual assault accusations ended flourishing coaching career at Chesterfield but now he feels he has much to give

James Rowe remembers packing a suitcase before the day of his trial verdict, looking at his two young sons and wondering when he would be able to hold them again. He feared that had a jury found him guilty he could have been in prison for up to two years. The level of anxiety was extreme; the loss of control felt almost overwhelming. “Saying goodbye to them is something I’ll never forget in my life,” he says. “I’m feeling I can’t stop the train: that it’s just running away.”

Rowe, a free man since his acquittal last month, orders a still water as he tells his story in a Suffolk pub. He would like a swift return to doing what he loves: to further a career that was flourishing when, as manager of Chesterfield on 24 January 2022, life was essentially put on pause. That morning he was at the family home in Derbyshire when John Croot, the Spireites’ CEO, told him he would be suspended after an allegation of sexual harassment. “It had been released to the media before I could put the phone down,” Rowe says. A matter of days later, police arrived at the house to arrest him; he was charged the following September.

Erling Haaland has been voted the best player in the world for 2023 by our 218-strong panel, with Jude Bellingham finishing second

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The Norwegian is only 23 but his devastating goal record has seen him voted as the No 1 player in the world by the Guardian’s expert panel

When Pep Guardiola tearfully claimed Manchester City could not replace the departing Sergio Agüero in May 2021, he didn’t just create a meme. Guardiola was soft-launching a global audition for his team’s new attacking talisman. An unsuccessful pursuit of Harry Kane in the summer of 2021 came between two title-winning seasons where Ilkay Gündogan (13) and Kevin De Bruyne (15) were the club’s top league goalscorers. Guardiola’s slick creative machine needed a new front man, and they found him in Erling Haaland.

Like Agüero before him – and in contrast to many of City’s most successful Pep-era signings – Haaland arrived as a bona fide superstar, a plug-and-play addition to an already stellar lineup. Whether he was a bargain is another question. The release clause paid was €60m (£51.2m), but some reports suggest Haaland’s five-year deal could cost the club in the region of £300m. And while there was an ominous logic to the move for City’s rivals, questions remained.